Maoist attack: BJP ridicules PC`s claim, Trinamool seeks probe

New Delhi: In the wake of the attack on a
police camp in West Bengal, Opposition BJP today sought to
ridicule Home Minister P Chidambaram`s claim of having a grasp
on the Naxal issue while Trinamool Congress wanted a central
probe to establish who carried out the killings.

Congress, meanwhile, put the onus on the Left
government in West Bengal saying it should have been more
vigilant even as CPI-M asked the Centre to launch a joint
operation across the Bengal-Jharkhand border without delay to
flush out Left extremists who were unleashing "vicious
violence".

Refusing to believe that Maoists were behind the
yesterday`s attack in Silda, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee
said, "It was a shocking incident and we condemn it. The
Centre should probe into it to find out the culprits behind
the incident."

When it was pointed out that Maoist leader Kishenji
has claimed responsibility for the attack on police camp, she
countered, "Who said so? I do not know who these people are.
There should be an investigation by the Centre to unveil the
truth."

BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the Maoist
attack was a "blow" to Chidambaram, whom he alleged of
"tom-tomming his policies and his grasp on the subject of
Naxalism".

"However at the same time he has failed to take any
concrete action on ground and has not sought cooperation from
states," he said.

Rudy said that instead of taking concrete action, "The
home minister has repeatedly been making loud insinuations.
The government meanwhile has been a lame duck to such attacks
and seems to have no answer to internal as well as external
attacks (referring to Pune blast)".

The BJP leader further said, "arrogance is not a
strategy to fight and contain Naxalism. The country is under
attack internally and externally and what happened in Pune was
a complete intelligence failure."

Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad said the state
government should have been "more vigilant". Another party
spokesperson Manish Tewari also refused to accept that the
incident points to any failure of internal security mechanism.

"The Maoists attacks in West Bengal and in Jharkhand
are condemnable. But they have not happened due to any
slackness in internal security," Tewari said, adding that
these incidents have only strengthened the government`s
resolve to defeat such forces.

He also dismissed the opposition charges that the UPA
ally Trinamool Congress is soft on Naxals saying nobody can
condone such acts.

Condemning the attack, CPI-M Politburo said, "There is
necessity for better coordination between the state police and
the central paramilitary forces. The Central government should
ensure that joint operations begin across the border in
Jharkhand, without delay."